For over a decade and half, we at The Lititz Watch Technicum have been working tirelessly on our educational programs to adapt to, and meet, the increasing demands of the high–end watchmaking market for an exceptionally qualified workforce. Those demands include the ability to j

Researched and written by Christopher Pilant. Occasionally, we find ourselves in the position of having to deal with an irritating problem: small amounts of silicone grease or Fomblin, used on caseback threads, working their way onto the inside of the crystal.  The task of removing it

A brief portrait of a centuries old profession.     The Takeoff in the 90s. In the 1990s an important shift materialized in the watchmaking profession: an increase in the demand for predominantly mechanical high end watches.   This trend has been on the rise ever since.

WHAT IS SAWTA? SAWTA, the Swiss American Watchmakers Training Alliance, was founded to ensure a standardized curriculum design, implementation, proficiency testing and certification primarily for the Rolex-funded watchmaking schools in the United States – see end of page. The pr

One year into the dual system program we are approaching the more advanced regions of our profession. On the watch repair side we left the 7750 behind and turned towards more traditional chronograph designs, while on the micromechanics side in addition to working at an increasingly sm

This remarkable speech was given by Terrence Guerin, not “Inside LWT”, but at the 2015 graduation ceremony of the Watch Technology Institute at the North Seattle College on Friday, August 21.   Here we are. End of the line. I’d like to thank everyone here in front of

                                                           

NOTE: FOR THE CURRENT STATE OF PROGRESS (UPDATED FREQUENTLY) PLEASE SCROLL DOWN RIGHT BELOW THE ‘EQUIPMENT’ SECTION. YOU WILL FIND THE MOST RECENT PIECES THERE.   Unlike two years ago when Joe was working intensely on building a prototype for the Tourbillon Model, we

Preparing for Exams There are four intermediate exams over the two-year SAWTA curriculum. These exams are designed to reflect the complete group of tasks that a full-fledged watchmaker is expected to perform in context of a complete watch service.  Successfully passing these exams dem

As the first year comes to a close in a few short weeks, the students are working with great focus to bring their school clocks and school watches to completion.  These two projects encompass all relevant tool and component making proficiencies taught in the first year.
 The work styl